# FIFA World Cup 2026 - discussion etc **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** football-soccer-fifa\ **Created:** [October 14, 2025, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962 "2025-10-14T15:43:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 52
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1021 "2026-06-17T17:05:49Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > ETA: As @Frodo says, it’s the lack of force that saves him. Yep, correct. I just watched the replay linked above and you’re right. It’s an ugly challenge but there really is very little force and although it looks horrible on a still photo, it was not a potential injury-causing tackle. If the onfield ref didn’t adjudge it a red then there’s no way VAR will deem that a clear and obvious error. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1022 "2026-06-17T17:08:09Z")
That was fast. If that’s how Congo’s defense is going to be Ronaldo is going to score at least one today. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1023 "2026-06-17T17:10:34Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > If that’s how Congo’s defense is going to be Ronaldo is going to score at least one today. Btw., how many total WC goals does he have? Can he theoretically challenge Mbpappé and Messi in the race to break Klose’s record? ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1024 "2026-06-17T17:11:40Z")
It’s funny, I like Messi so much more than CR7 that I’m hoping that if Portugal wins big he still doesn’t score a goal. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1025 "2026-06-17T17:11:41Z")
1. So no unless this game is wild. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1026 "2026-06-17T17:12:56Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > On a quite different note, I just saw the last commercial on ZDF before the Portugal-Congo game: so Jürgen Klopp tries to pitch an American beer, Anheuser-Busch, to Germans? Good luck with that… The things you do for money… OTOH, I have seen a lot of Germans drink Corona beer. 🤦‍♂️ > [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > > [@Railer13](#): > > > > In a battle of ‘who’s the best forward in the world’, Messi had 3 goals yesterday, Mbappe had two, and Haaland also had two. > > I think Harry Kane also has a say in this matter…Let’s see how he does today against Croatia. I am glad nobody mentioned the Crybaby That Must Not Be Named 😁 Until much later, at least. > [@Frodo](#): > > Messi wouldn’t have played for Spain in a million years, the man bleeds white and light blue. Yeah, yeah… and he will finish his career with Newells Old Boys, because his heart always was with them. Pull the other one. He was very young, inexperienced, naive, and manipulable. It was closer than you are ready to admit in public, and I understand that. But think of this: had Catalonia had a national team back then, he might even have chosen that one. The Argentinians reacted fast and well, the Spaniards were asleep and let him go without even trying. The fools! ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1027 "2026-06-17T17:14:55Z")
Now speaking of a foul that maybe should have been red, Bernardo sees yellow. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1028 "2026-06-17T17:15:03Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Yeah, yeah… and he will finish his career with Newells Old Boys, because his heart always was with them. Well there are limits. > [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > The Argentinians reacted fast and well, the Spaniards were asleep and let him go without even trying. The fools! In fact the Argentinians were asleep too, it took far more time than it should to get AFA interested in securing Messi. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1029 "2026-06-17T17:15:44Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > The things you do for money… Klopp is a commercial whore, if I might say so. He pitches everything. He would sell his grandma for a buck. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1030 "2026-06-17T17:19:35Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > OTOH, I have seen a lot of Germans drink Corona beer. Isn’t Corona Mexican? At least that’s how I’ve seen it marketed. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1031 "2026-06-17T17:22:35Z")
Unpopular opinion, but the mass market lagers in the US, Mexico, UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, Czechia, and Belgium are not really all that different in quality. Moroccan beer, otoh, is terrible. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1032 "2026-06-17T17:23:23Z")
Yes, and served in a clear bottle that does not protect it from UV radiation. Bad for taste stability. And the caps used to be so badly sealed that the Mexicans developed the habit of cleaning the freshly opened bottle with a slice of lime to get rid of the rust and the slime, and the idiots took it for fancy cool. Did I mention that it is imported all the way from Mexico and is much too expensive? No, you mentioned that. Sometimes people are fools. Disclaimer: I had one. Once. I am adventurous when it comes to beer. But I am no fool. Not for long, usually. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1033 "2026-06-17T17:25:17Z")
Never had a Corona in my life. Has always been a hipster drink “cool” people drink and pay too much for in fancy clubs. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1034 "2026-06-17T17:25:58Z")
Yes, Corona is Mexican, but all the big beer brands go back to German settlement in Mexico. Adjusted some for local taste and ingredients and such of course. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1035 "2026-06-17T17:27:34Z")
Yes, I darkly remember: > **[The Execution of Emperor Maximilian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Execution_of_Emperor_Maximilian)** > > The Execution of Emperor Maximilian is a series of paintings by Édouard Manet from 1867 to 1869, depicting the execution by firing squad of Emperor Maximilian I of the short-lived Second Mexican Empire. Manet produced three large oil paintings, a smaller oil sketch and a lithograph of the same subject. All five works were brought together for an exhibition in London and Mannheim in 1992–1993 and at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2006. > Maximilian was born in 1832, the second son of Arc... ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1036 "2026-06-17T17:53:51Z")
Totally deserved equalizer by Congo at last minute. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1037 "2026-06-17T17:56:43Z")
I went to run an errand at 10’, and walked in at 46’ to see that goal. I missed it a bit it seems. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1038 "2026-06-17T18:01:57Z")
Please…a Congo victory. I need to see the Portugal/Penaldo meltdown. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1039 "2026-06-17T18:06:07Z")
Pulisic apparently still hasn’t trained with the rest of the US team. At this point I expect him to be out of the lineup Friday. If so, Brendan Aaronson in his place. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1040 "2026-06-17T18:09:32Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Pulisic apparently still hasn’t trained with the rest of the US team. Do we know what kind of injury he has? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962.md?page=51) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962.md?page=53)